Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to disk drives, and more particularly to a disk drive having electrical traces formed upon a disk drive housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The typical hard disk drive includes a disk drive base, and a head disk assembly (HDA) and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) attached to the disk drive base. The head disk assembly includes at least one magnetic disk, a spindle motor for rotating the disk, and a head stack assembly (HSA) that includes at least one transducer head, typically several, for reading and writing data to and from the disk. As discussed further below, the printed circuit board includes functional portions of which may be characterized as spindle motor drive circuitry, actuator drive circuitry, and read channel circuitry.
The head stack assembly includes an actuator assembly, at least one head gimbal assembly, and a flex circuit cable assembly. A conventional xe2x80x9crotaryxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cswing-typexe2x80x9d actuator assembly typically comprises an actuator body that rotates on a pivot assembly between limited positions, a coil portion that extends from one side of the actuator body to interact with one or more permanent magnets to form a voice coil motor, and one or more actuator arms which extend from an opposite side of the actuator body. The actuator assembly includes the actuator body which has a bore and a pivot bearing cartridge engaged within the bore. A head gimbal assembly includes at least one transducer head, sometimes two, which is distally attached to each of the actuator arms.
The flex circuit cable assembly includes a flex circuit cable which is attached to the actuator assembly and electrically connects the various electrical components onboard the head stack assembly with a relatively minimal impact upon its pivoting movement. The actuator drive circuitry is configured to generate servo control signals. The head stack assembly is controllably positioned in response to the generated servo control signals from the actuator drive circuitry. In so doing, the attached heads are moved relative to tracks disposed upon the disk. As such, the flex circuit cable houses electrical connections between actuator drive circuitry and the coil portion of the actuator assembly. Further, the read channel circuitry is configured to receive data signal from the heads. As such, the flex circuit cable further houses the electrical connections between the read channel circuitry and the heads.
The spindle motor includes a hub that is rotatably attached to the disk drive base. The hub has an outer flange that supports one of the disks. Additional disks may be stacked and separated with spacers. The spindle motor further includes an annular magnet and a spindle motor stator. Where space efficiency is of vital concern, the magnet is typically attached about the lowermost portion of the hub below the flange. The magnet consists of a predetermined number of N and S poles that are disposed alternately circumferentially about the magnet. The spindle motor stator includes an outer rim that is attached to the disk drive base and a plurality of internally facing stator teeth The stator teeth are equally spaced and extend from the stator rim. The spindle motor stator is sized to fit about the hub and in particular the magnet. Each stator tooth includes windings which selectively conduct current to create a magnetic field that interacts with the various poles of the magnet. Such interaction results in forces applied to the hub which tend to rotate the hub. The spindle motor drive circuitry is configured to generate electrical signals to the stator, and in particular the windings thereof, for controlling the movement of the spindle motor.
A topic of concern is the desire to reduce the overall disk drive size. Such disk drives may have a variety of applications in any number of host electronic devices, such as hand held or portable devices such as computer laptops, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, etc. In this regard, a disk drive may be of an internal nature or externally connectable such as in a socket, port or other interface of the associated host electronic unit. The exterior size and shape of the disk drive is often referred to as a xe2x80x9cform factorxe2x80x9d. Reduction of such disk drive form factor has proven challenging. This is because the mere reduction of the size of the various disk drive components may result in such components being unable to conform to required specifications and standard form factors for such components, and may result in installation or assembly difficulties. In this regard, one particular area of focus is the electrical connections between the various electrical components of the disk drive. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved arrangement for the electrical connections between various disk drive electrical components in comparison to the prior art.
An aspect of the invention can be regarded as a disk drive for use with a host electronic unit including spindle motor drive circuitry. The disk drive includes a disk drive housing, and a spindle motor rotatably attached to the disk drive housing. The spindle motor includes a stator. The disk drive further includes a host connector attached to the disk drive housing which is operably connectable to the spindle motor drive circuitry for receiving electrical signals from the spindle motor drive circuitry for controlling the spindle motor. The disk drive further includes a stator electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the stator to the host connector for electrically connecting the stator and the host connector.
The stator electrical trace may be integrally formed upon the disk drive housing via an electroless plating process. The disk drive housing may be formed of molded plastic. The disk drive housing may have a groove formed therein, and the stator electrical trace is formed within the groove. The host connector may be integrally formed with the disk drive housing.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a disk drive for use with a host electronic unit. The disk drive includes a disk drive housing, and a spindle motor rotatably attached to the disk drive housing. The spindle motor includes a stator. The disk drive further includes spindle motor drive circuitry coupled to the disk drive housing. The spindle motor drive circuitry is configured to generate electrical signals for controlling the spindle motor. The disk drive further includes a stator/spindle motor drive circuitry electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the spindle motor drive circuitry to the stator for receiving electrical signals from the spindle motor drive circuitry for controlling the spindle motor. The disk drive further includes a host connector attached to the disk drive housing. The host connector is operably connectable to the host electronic unit. The disk drive further includes a spindle motor drive circuitry/host connector electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the spindle motor drive circuitry to the host connector for electrically connecting the spindle motor drive circuitry with the host electronic unit.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a disk drive for use with a host electronic unit including actuator drive circuitry. The disk drive includes a disk drive housing, and a head stack assembly rotatably attached to the disk drive housing. The head stack assembly includes a coil portion. The disk drive further includes a flex circuit cable operably connected to the coil portion. The disk drive further includes a host connector attached to the disk drive housing. The host connector is operably connectable to the actuator drive circuitry for receiving electrical signals from the actuator drive circuitry for controlling movement of the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes a coil electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the flex circuit cable to the host connector for electrically connecting the coil portion and the host connector.
The coil electrical traces may be integrally formed upon the disk drive housing via an electroless plating process. The disk drive housing may be formed of molded plastic. The disk drive housing may have a groove formed therein, and the coil electrical trace is formed within the groove. The host connector may be integrally formed with the disk drive housing.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a disk drive for use with a host electronic unit. The disk drive includes a disk drive housing, and a head stack assembly rotatably attached to the disk drive housing. The head stack assembly includes a coil portion. The disk drive further includes a flex circuit cable operably connected to the coil portion. The disk drive further includes actuator drive circuitry coupled to the disk drive housing. The actuator drive circuitry is configured to generate electrical signals for controlling the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes a flex circuit cable/actuator drive circuitry electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the actuator drive circuitry to the flex circuit cable for receiving electrical signals from the actuator drive circuitry for controlling the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes a host connector attached to the disk drive housing. The host connector is operably connectable to the host electronic unit. The disk drive further includes an actuator drive circuitry/host connector electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the actuator drive circuitry to the host connector for electrically connecting the actuator drive circuitry with the host electronic unit.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a disk drive for use with a host electronic unit including read channel circuitry. The disk drive includes a disk drive housing, and a head stack assembly rotatably attached to the disk drive housing. The disk drive further includes a preamplifier operably connected to the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes a host connector attached to the disk drive housing. The host connector is operably connectable to the read channel circuitry for receiving electrical signals from the head stack assembly to the read channel circuitry. The disk drive further includes a preamplifier electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the preamplifier to the host connector for electrically connecting the head stack assembly and the host connector.
The disk drive may further have a flex circuit cable operably connected to the head stack assembly and the preamplifier. The disk drive may further have a flex circuit cable/preamplifier electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing between the flex circuit cable and the preamplifier. The flex circuit cable/preamplifier electrical trace may be integrally formed upon the disk drive housing via an electroless plating process. The preamplifier electrical trace may be integrally formed upon the disk drive housing via an electroless plating process. The disk drive housing may be formed of molded plastic. The disk drive housing may have a groove formed therein, and the preamplifier electrical trace is formed within the grooves. The host connector may be integrally formed with the disk drive housing.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a disk drive for use with a host electronic unit. The disk drive includes a disk drive housing, and a head stack assembly rotatably attached to the disk drive housing. The disk drive further includes a preamplifier operably connected to the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes read channel circuitry configured to receive electrical signals from the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes a preamplifier/read channel circuitry electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the read channel circuitry to the preamplifier for receiving electrical signals by the read channel circuitry from the preamplifier from the head stack assembly. The disk drive further includes a host connector attached to the disk drive housing. The host connector is operably connectable to the host electronic unit. The disk drive further includes a read channel circuitry/host connector electrical trace integrally formed upon the disk drive housing from the read channel circuitry to the host connector for electrically connecting the read channel circuitry with the host electronic unit.